Chapter 15
There I was, sitting across from Luke Fisher.
Yep, that Luke Fisher.
Academy Award-winning, People’s Sexiest Man Alive, star of every movie that’s ever made anyone laugh, cry, and/or question their life choices.
Oh, and apparently, he was Topher’s best friend. They had gone to college together and knew each other before they became famous.
And there we all were, crammed into Josephine’s tiny house, Luke looking every bit like he was born to lounge on Italian leather, while his wife Anna, who grew up not far from me in New Orleans, looked effortlessly stunning on a thrifted chair that squeaked whenever she moved.
And the weirdest part? I was having fun.
“I knew this guy when he was a full-on nerd,” Luke said. “The biggest nerd.”
Topher rolled his eyes, but there was a smirk creeping up. “Says the guy who once wrote a ten-page essay on why Spider-Man could outwit Hamlet. And read the whole thing in class. Dressed as Spider-Man.”
Luke shrugged, grinning. “It’s called committing to the role. Maybe that’s why I have an Oscar and you have spreadsheets.”
Topher leaned back, crossing his arms with a smirk. “At least I wasn’t quoting Twilight at parties.”
Luke gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. “Excuse me? I was Team Jacob for literary reasons.”
Nerds? These two, looking like they walked off the cover of GQ, had been nerds? I blinked, trying to reconcile the word with the evidence in front of me.
Luke Fisher was tall and tan, with perfectly tousled blonde hair that belonged in a shampoo commercial. He looked like someone you could admire from a distance but never touch. He was effortless, movie-star handsome.
When I first met Topher, I thought he was the same—too perfect, too polished.
Tall, with brown hair that always seemed to fall just right, and a jawline so sharp it could cut glass.
He wore an intense look, like he was always three steps ahead of everyone else, and honestly?
I had figured he’d be just as untouchable as Luke.
But now? The more time I spent with him, the more real he seemed. His eyes weren’t so guarded, and when he smiled, it lit up his whole face in a way that made him even more handsome. Less perfect, but better.
Honestly, if this were the new definition of ‘nerd,’ then sign me up. Where do I get my membership card?
Josephine, who had been quietly watching the college friends joke around, finally chimed in. “I’m just glad to see that time hasn’t changed either of you.”
Anna turned to Josephine with a warm smile, smoothly shifting the conversation. “We’re just so glad you’re feeling better. You look amazing.”
Josephine smiled, waving her hand dismissively. “Oh, please. It’s all the lounging around I’ve been doing. I haven’t even had your spa people come yet. Thank you for that gift, by the way.”
Anna reached over and touched her arm. “You deserve to be pampered!”
Josephine chuckled. “I know, I know! It’s just, well, with Topher and his darling Kathleen staying here, I’ve been so spoiled already.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “Toph? Spoiling someone? Did I wake up in an alternate universe?”
Josephine patted Luke’s hand and lowered her voice. “I know. For years, I saw you more than I saw Topher because he would never come home. But now he’s here, and he and Kathleen are making my meals. Can you believe it?”
Her words struck me. Why would she have seen Luke more than her own son? That seemed odd. But no one else in the room even blinked, as if this was just a well-known fact about Topher, that he was always so focused on work that his family slipped into the background.
Before I could unpack it any further, Luke turned to me, eyes wide. “Topher? In the kitchen? Voluntarily? Are we sure he’s not just boiling water and calling it a meal?”
I laughed. “Believe it. Topher’s an impressive chef. He’s been whisking together some gourmet dishes.”
Josephine added with a smile, “And our favorite part of the day is watching Jeopardy! together and then a movie to unwind. We even saw one of yours the other night—The Last Stand.”
Anna’s grin widened as she rubbed Luke’s knee affectionately. “The Last Stand? The one where Luke was the retired soldier who swore he’d never fight again. Until the bad guys show up and—surprise—he fights again?”
Josephine nodded enthusiastically. “I was gripping my chair during that final battle. I’m pretty sure I forgot to breathe.”
“Yeah, I had to remind myself to breathe filming that scene.” Luke mimed dragging something heavy. “Turns out, carrying a life-size dummy of my co-star was more of a workout than I signed up for.”
“You know,” Anna said, smiling, “I always thought you’d move on to something calmer after that, but nope, you went straight to another action movie.”
Luke grinned. “I do love a good explosion. Keeps the audience awake.”
Josephine chuckled. “Well, we appreciated the adrenaline rush. It’s not every day you get to watch someone you know save the world.”
“And he only had to blow up half a city to do it,” Topher added, deadpan.
Luke shot him a mischievous grin. “I can’t believe it. Topher Brodie watching movies. Playing Jeopardy!? Making meals and not glued to his work? This is an alternate reality.”
Josephine’s eyes twinkled. “And these two are responsible for all those Halloween decorations outside. Can you believe it?”
Anna’s jaw dropped, and she turned to us. “Wait, you two did that? Topher, arranging holiday decorations? Now I’ve heard everything.”
Topher raised his coffee mug in a mock toast. “Well, to be fair, my assistant did most of the heavy lifting. But we provided, uh, creative direction.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “It was all Topher. My ‘creative direction’ mostly consisted of pointing and saying, ‘more pumpkins.’”
Topher grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Yeah, the real highlight was Kathleen’s battle with a spider web. It was legendary.”
I groaned. “Don’t even start.”
“Oh, I have to.” He leaned in, mock serious. “She walked into it and somehow, in under five seconds, managed to look like a Halloween mummy.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help laughing. “You weren’t much help. You stood there for a good minute, saying, ‘I’m pretty sure it’s not real, Kathleen,’ while I was fighting for my life.”
Topher chuckled. “Hey, I was offering moral support.”
I shot him a playful glare. “Oh, right. You just stood there like a director yelling, More drama! Make it more believable!”
We burst into laughter, lost in the memory, and when I finally looked up, Anna and Luke were staring at us wide-eyed.
I cleared my throat. “I guess you had to be there.”
Luke shook his head. “First meal prep, now holiday decor. Next thing we know, Topher’ll be baking pies from scratch.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Topher said. “One miracle at a time.”
We laughed, and as the evening wore on, Josephine stood up, stretching with a satisfied sigh. She gave Luke and Anna warm hugs. “You kids behave now. I’m off to bed. Don’t stay up too late reliving the glory days.”
“No promises,” Topher said.
As Josephine left, the guys naturally veered into what was apparently one of their favorite topics: their rowing days at Brown, when they were both athletes and masochists.
“Do you remember that one race where we were so wiped afterward, we had to crawl to the showers?” Topher said with a grin.
Luke laughed. “Right! The only thing that saved my grades that semester was the fact that I physically couldn’t fall asleep in class because my muscles were too sore to relax.”
Topher chuckled. “And remember that one guy on the team who rowed until his hands bled? That guy was a legend.”
Luke gave him a look. “Yeah, I remember. That guy was you.”
Topher smirked. “Well, someone had to show the rest of you what commitment looked like.”
Luke shook his head. “Or what insanity looked like.”
Topher laughed. “Speaking of insanity, remember that time I rowed so hard I threw up mid-stroke and kept going? There was no way I was letting my team down.”
“Ha! That’s nothing. Don’t you remember when I puked so hard it splashed into the opponent’s boat during a sprint? They were so freaked out that we won the race. Now that’s legendary.”
Anna wrinkled her nose. “Okay, when these guys start talking about vomiting, that’s my cue to cut out.” She turned to me with a smile. “Want to get some air?”
The cool evening breeze hit my skin as we stepped onto the porch.
I glanced over at Anna, marveling for a moment at how effortlessly stunning she was.
Her waves of brown hair glinted in the light.
She looked like she should be on the cover of some glossy magazine, yet she was so easy-going, the kind of woman you could share a pizza with while binge-watching terrible TV.
Not at all like the wife of a movie star. Way cooler, actually.
“How are you doing?” Anna’s voice was gentle, but with a hint of curiosity.
“I’m fine. Just glad Josephine’s doing so much better.”
Anna smiled slightly, tilting her head as if she knew something I didn’t. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Pretend?”
“I know the whole romance between you and Topher isn’t real.”
My heart skipped a beat. Was it that obvious?
“Topher told Luke,” she explained. “Those two can’t keep anything from each other.” Then Anna leaned in just a bit, as if she wanted to share a secret. “Topher might be saying that it’s fake, but I’ve never seen him act like this before.”
I tried to laugh it off and shook my head. Sure, Topher had done thoughtful things—like bringing me my favorite coffee and remembering little details I’d casually mentioned. But wasn’t that just part of keeping up the act? He was playing his role perfectly, just like I was. Right?
And then there was the way he’d started talking about my future. Social work school, putting together a plan for me. But that wasn’t love. It was logistics. He was simply ensuring things went smoothly when this charade came to an end, tying up loose ends.